How to update a chest of drawers

Sick of a tired-looking chest of drawers ? Get creative this weekend and turn it into a stylish piece of statement furniture.

Check out our 4 ways to reinvent a chest of drawers.

Give it a modern-retro edge How to do it Remove the drawers, then sand and paint the chest in two coats of gloss paint . Make a template of the drawer fronts, cut out the shape from adhesive wood veneer using a craft knife, then stick to the drawer fronts. Measure the width and height of each drawer and cut two lengths of moulding for each measurement, mitering the edges. Paint in white gloss and, when dry, glue onto the drawer fronts. Wrap white electrical tape around handles, drill holes in each drawer and attach the handles. What you need Chest painted in Firecracker 2, £14.49 for 1l; mouldings painted in Brilliant White, £9.99 for 750ml; both Quick Dry Gloss by Dulux . African Mahogany veneer, £46.21 (70 x 244cm), MCB Supplies . Mouldings, £1.51 for 2.4m, Leyland . Metrik handles, £5 for two, IKEA . Electrical tape, £5.98 for five 10m rolls, B&Q .

Get the look Find flooring like this at Crucial Trading and these hooks at Twentytwentyone .

Be playful with paint How to do it

Remove knobs and paint the chest, including the drawers, in the colour that will appear at the base. Allow for two coats. Once dry, paint a rough guide line for where you'd like the middle colour to begin. Paint up to the border of your top colour . Then overload your brush with paint and, with bristles pointing down, lightly press it into the edge of your guide line so that the paint drips smoothly down. Repeat with the top colour. Paint each drawer knob with the corresponding colour.

What you need Chest of drawers painted in (from bottom) Moon Waves 6, 3 and 1; all Quick Dry Gloss, £14.49 for 1l, Dulux .

Get the look Find this lamp at Aria and the print at Rockett St George .

Add glamour with mirrors How to do it Remove the drawers. Cut strips of wallpaper to cover the sections of the frame between the drawers, with 1cm either side to fold over the edges. Apply wallpaper paste generously to the paper and smooth onto the frame. Cut sections to cover the sides of the chest and repeat procedure. When dry, varnish to seal. Measure each drawer front and the unit top. Order mirrored glass panels, giving accurate measurements for the knob holes. Attach the panels with mirror adhesive. When dry, screw in knobs - don't tighten them too much as this can crack the glass. What you need Ponti wallpaper, £74.03 per 10m roll, Osborne & Little . Mirror, £125 per sq m, Preedy Glass . Xtragrip adhesive, £3.50, Bohle Mirror Systems . For similar knobs, go to Haute Déco .

Get the look Visit Graham and Green for this sunburst mirror.

Go bold with 3-D text How to do it Enlarge letters in your chosen font to suit the proportions of your drawer front , or format text in Microsoft Word or Adobe Illustrator and send to The Cutting Room to create in MDF. Remove drawers and paint two coats of gloss on the front, sides and top of unit as well as drawer fronts and edges. Stick each letter on with wood glue. Add casters for a modern utility finish. What you need Laser-cut text shown, around £30 per word, The Cutting Room . Text painted in Brilliant White matt emulsion, £10.99 for 2.5l; chest painted in Celtic Forest 1 Quick Dry Gloss, £14.49 for 2.5l; both Dulux . No More Nails Express wood glue, £4.98, B&Q . Casters, £3.35 each, Leyland .

Get the look This flooring can be found at Tarkett and the plant pots are from Niki Jones .

For more creative furniture updates check out our 4 ways to update a dining table and our 4 ways to update an old chair.

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